Jock had to wonder how a good ol’ boy spacer knew so much about military hardware. But he had no time to ponder the mystery, for at this very moment, the gun drone unleashed another barrage of laser fire. This one was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the deflective coating, which had held up so admirably, finally began to fail, and a burst of fire penetrated the starboard engine housing. There was a small, muffled explosion and a puff of black smoke.
“Damn!” Tiger cursed. “Number Two is breached!”
“It’s okay!” Jock yelled back, the smile of twisted triumph looking very out of place at this desperate moment.
“What the hell you talking about?” Tiger yelled back, as he returned fire at the drone and then at the men on the ground. “Have you lost your damned mind?”
“Maybe, but I ain’t lost my touch!” gloated Jock as red locks on the hologram suddenly turned green and opened.
Got you, you little bastard!” Amateurs. A sense of primal, almost sexual, conquest filled him. Vindication for his earlier gaffe with GenetX. “You’re all mine now!”
***
“What th—!”
In the command craft, Cee Tee watched in disbelief as the gun drone app suddenly froze up and then closed out on him. One second, he was pounding Thomas’ old truck with relentless laser fire, and the next, he was staring at a blank, blue screen.
“How …” he frantically pounded the keyboard. Obviously, there must have been a software failure. Or a glitch. Then, to his horror, from behind the building, he heard the unmistakable high-pitched banshee scream of laser fire opening back up again.
The drone was still operational! But … how?
As the realization of what was happening became clearer, he felt rage and admiration simultaneously.
DeWitt! That marvelous bastard! I just got fuckin’ hacked in the middle of a gunfight! Unbelievable!
***
His rifle at the ready, Seven stepped carefully to the doorway. Just outside the window, he could hear the old truck taking fire. Frost definitely had it in a nutcracker.
“Amber!” He heard a man’s voice above the raucous din. “Let’s go! In the truck, darlin’!” No doubt the old spacer he’d scoffed at just hours earlier. He hated to admit Frost had been right, but the dude had pretty much flown right into the middle of the operation and wreaked havoc upon the whole damned shindig. This old rocket pusher, this spacer … this Tiger … he had a pair with hair alright.
Pulling open a small folding mirror on the side of his rifle, he held it up in the doorway at an angle that would allow him to see into the room, without exposing himself. It took him just a few seconds to get his bearings. The vixen was crouched about four feet this side of the open window, still armed with the pistol. From the looks of it, she was getting up the nerve to go. Due to its build, the way the oversized engines protruded out each side, the truck was unable to sidle up right next to the window, even with a hotshot rocket jockey at the stick. There was probably a good six feet of open air she would have to span. She was going to have to make a well-timed jump.
He would’ve liked to have continued to enjoy his appraisal of the creature, especially through the rear view. She really had the most bodacious ass he’d ever seen, even if it was covered in fur and had a bushy tail sprouting from the top of it. Unfortunately, he was getting paid to do a job. He shifted his attention to the man doing an unbelievable job of balancing himself on the running board of the truck while using the truck’s portside engine cowling and gullwing door for cover while he traded fire with what must have been the unit’s gun drone.
Finally, something in his favor! The drone had the man’s complete attention. It also was preventing the vixen from a clean jump. While he may have been shielded from the drone, the fact that he was set up in the window to extract the girl left him completely exposed to Seven. A well-placed surgical shot … and all that had happened previously would not matter. He still had a chance to be the MVP of the mission.
He unhinged his rifle barrel and turned it ninety degrees so he could shoot around the doorjamb while remaining concealed. Popping his periscope sight up, he calmly zeroed in on the troublemaking spacer.
Hold still for just a few more seconds, you old bastard!
Suddenly the drone ceased its merciless barrage of the truck. But why? It had the suckers in a ball cruncher! He heard the man yell to the girl, and suddenly she filled his sights and the window. He knew instantly he had only seconds to apprehend her before she was gone for good.
Damn! He was going to have to do this the hard way. Locking his barrel back into its regular position, he raised the gun to his shoulder. Sighting along the barrel, he estimated the height of Thomas’ head. Then, finger on the trigger, he spun out of the bathroom and toward the window.
Just in time to see all hell break loose.
***
Just moments before, Jocko had roared out a Rebel Yell of triumph, as he wheeled the drone around and opened fire on the ground team. This sent them scurrying for cover, red laser bolts hot on their heels. With one swipe across the hologram, he’d completely changed the game. The battle had turned, and now the ones getting their asses kicked were kicking back. He cast a smug look at Tiger, who could only roll his eyes.
“You can apologize later,” he gloated, his words dripping with cockiness.
